Long hours to clear Tobago northside road after Hurricane Beryl

THA Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development employees were hard at work on July 2 clearing a portion of the L’Anse Fourmi/Charlotteville Link Road, on Tobago’s northside, which became impassable when Hurricane Beryl blew past the island on July 1.

Beryl’s powerful winds downed trees, concrete utility poles and electricity lines, and since then commuters have had to use alternative routes to and from both villages and other parts of the region.

Schools in the area were also affected by the lack of electricity. On July 1, the Division of Education announced that all ECCE, primary and secondary schools in the electoral district of Parlatuvier/L'Anse Fourmi/Speyside would be closed until further notice. Pentecostal Light and Life Foundation High School, Scarborough was also closed until further notice.

When Newsday visited the area around 10.30 am on July 2, workers were using power saws and other tools to cut the branches of the large trees that had fallen onto the road. A backhoe operator cleared debris from part of the road so that vehicles could drive through.

Works supervisor Dave Hackett said the road should be fully cleared before the end of the week.

“Right now you could hardly pass, because lots of trees and lines came down. T&TEC have a lot of work to do on this road,” he said.

Hackett said power was lost in several communities along the Northside Road.

“But it took two days to come back. It went away the morning of the storm and it come back very late last night.”

At the time of Newsday’s visit, he said L’Anse Fourmi did not have electricity.

A T&TEC report on July 2 said electricity had been restored to 95 per cent of affected customers. but power was not yet available in L'Anse Fourmi, Moriah, Goodwood, Mt St George, Argyle and Belle Garden. T&TEC blamed a landslide for the continued outage in L'Anse Fourmi but said crews from Trinidad would be arriving to assist in restoration efforts.

Hackett said T&TEC should cut the trees in and around people’s homes when they are running lines.

“I have a problem with T&TEC. They are coming through people’s place to run lines, and there are trees to be cut, and I am gathering that they do not come in people place and cut trees. But they have lines running in people place, and that is causing a problem.

“Because right now I am having that problem by me.”

Hackett said several groups of workers were required to clear the Northside Road.

“I am one of the supervisors. I run a gang here. I control three teams here. So I come here to see that they work with these guys.”

He said the workers have been putting in long hours.

“The work change because of the disaster. The workers have to work very late to get this place clear up. But if they don’t want to do that, they get paid accordingly for how they work.”

Hackett said he had never experienced the effects of a category-four hurricane.

“Is the first time I ever see something like this. It was real frightening. I couldn’t leave home. When I come in the back here, I was very surprised.”

He said people must heed advisories about hurricanes and other natural disasters.

“People have to take precautions when they hear about these things. They are not a joke, and a lot of people will learn from this. Is not something to be taken lightly, because it could have been worse.”

Hackett said he was grateful the hurricane did not cause much destruction across the island.

The island was bracing for a direct hit, but the system veered northwards instead.

“Praise God, it just happen along the shoreline. Some of the trees at people’s homes got thrown down.”

Hackett, who lives at Fort Campbleton, Charlotteville, said he did not sleep at his home on the night Beryl passed Tobago.

“I slept by my sister, because it was real scary. When it reached a certain hour it was real scary, because we had it (bad) more on this side than town side.”

He said he was disappointed by the lack of concern by some of the villagers in Charlotteville. There were reports that some residents at Man-o-War Bay were drinking rum and “bubbling a pot,” while others danced in the street.

“What I did not like was how this news was going around about this storm and some people take it lightly and keeping fisherman lime.

“I was very upset about that, because the storm could have come and trapped them out there. People need, when they hear these things, to put off all activity and take care of what they have, because when you lose it, you come on the road now and you want to vex.”

Fallen trees, electricity lines and minor landslides were also seen in parts of Bloody Bay and Parlatuvier.